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Juwan Howard responds to comments from Oregon coach Dana Altman on cancelled rematch
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Juwan Howard is letting Oregon coach Dan Altman know his feelings head-on without beating around the bush.
Michigan basketball has yet to travel to Eugene to face the Ducks as part of a home-and-home series starting back in 2019. The contract between the two schools was signed earlier that year when John Beilein was still Michigan’s head coach.
Beilein might have wanted to play in this game, but Howard is looking to move past the rematch since time has passed.
“Last that I read in the contract, it states that we don’t owe them a game,” Howard said at Michigan’s media day at the Crisler Center, per MLive.com. “And with our schedule, it was just hard to fit that game in this year, and then possibly also next year. But we’ll see what the future holds.”
Howard was hired as Beilein’s replacement following his departure for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019. Altman, who has coached the Ducks since 2010, said in a recent interview at Oregon’s media day that there is no buyout in place, meaning the game should still be played.
“They have a hard time answering the phone I guess.,” Altman said, per Oregon Live. “They owe us a game and we fully expect them to repay the game. I’m sure if the shoe was on the other foot they would expect us to return it and we sure in the hell expect them to return it.”
Michigan lost its matchup in overtime when playing Ann Arbor, 71-70. The game was expected to be played in 2020, but due to COVID-19, alterations were made to the schedule for next season and beyond.
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Tradition who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.